Filipino citizens filed over 200,000 visa applications for Schengen visas in 2023. This took expenses for applications to $17.4 million, considering that visa application costs were €80 or $86.72 up until June 2024.
According to data published by SchengenVisaInfo, Filipino applicants have filed the highest record of visa applications in 2023, which justifies the expenditures made for the year, VisaGuide.World reports.
However, starting from June 11, 2024, Filipinos have to pay 12.5 percent more for Schengen visa applications, which will make the process of applying for a visa even more expensive.
Filipinos’ Expenditures for Schengen Visas Between 2019 & 2023 Surpassed $59.4 Million
Expenses for Schengen visa applications are increasing, considering that Filipinos are each year applying more and more for visas.
In 2023, the number of visa applications has surpassed the pre-pandemic levels. Filipinos filed six percent more visa requests. This nationality group also spent a total of $17.4 million on visa applications, compared to $16.4 million spent in 2019.
As per rejected applications, $16.2 million went up ‘in smoke’ as Filipinos spent money without obtaining a visa and traveling to the Schengen zone.
Moreover, rejection rates fell from 8.30 percent to 5.90 in 2023, showing that Filipinos are being each time more welcomed to the Schengen states.
This means that the number of visas that receive a negative response is decreasing. While in 2019, around 15,680 visas were rejected, this number dropped to 11,762 in 2023.
70% of Visas Issued to Filipinos in 2023 Were Multiple Entry
The 26 Schengen states have approved more visas to Filipinos in 2023, but yet the share of multiple-entry visas granted is not the highest. This means that Filipinos have been granted more single-entry visas.
According to the data, on average, 69.7 percent of approved visas in the last five years are MEVs. The share was higher during the pandemic (74.6 and 82.7 percent, respectively) but lower in 2019 (66.3 percent) and 2023 (66.83 percent).
As per countries that had a higher share of MEVS, Hungary, Germany, and Switzerland were more likely to grant Filipinos multiple entry visas in 2023. On the other hand, Finland, Denmark, and Poland issued fewer visas to this nationality group.
Netherlands’ Received 22.5% of All Visa Applications From Filipinos in 2023
Out of 200,973 applications, Filipinos have filed 22.5 percent or 45,224 visa requests submitted to the Netherlands, which is the main recipient of the applications.
Apart from the Netherlands, Filipinos’ main destinations for visa applications were France, Italy, Spain and Germany.
On the other hand, Hungary was the country that received the fewest applications from Filipinos – a total of 1,207. Poland, Finland and Czechia are also among the countries that received fewer visa applications.